Taylor Hicks Reveals Songs on His New Album

Word is out on what songs will appear on Taylor Hicks's self-titled album, his first since winning American Idol in May.

On the Arista release, due to hit stores Dec. 12, the silver-haired "Soul Patrol" singer will cover songs by Marvin Gaye and Rob Thomas, among others, Reuters reports.

Hicks, 30, will sing his versions of the Smokey Robinson classic "Ain't That Peculiar," originally performed by Gaye; "Wherever I Lay My Hat," written by Gaye, and "Dream Myself Awake," by Thomas.

Also included is "The Right Place," written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance for Ray Charles shortly before his death.

The songs "Soul Thing" and "The Deal" were both written by Hicks and released on his second independent album, Under the Radar, before he auditioned for the FOX talent hunt.

Hicks recently told PEOPLE of the album, "It's my take on modern soul music. My album takes pieces of what I learned from Ray (Charles) and from what I hear in today's music. I like some John Legend, Ambulance LTD. I like some of the modern beats of Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. ... My musical sensibility goes way beyond the two minutes of Idol."

On what he would ask his own idol, Ray Charles, if he could sit down with him, he said, "I'd ask him, 'Do you want to play chess?' He was a big chess player. He probably got asked a lot of musical questions. For me, I'd just like to sit down with him and start with a game of chess."

For exclusive video of Hicks as he takes a tour of Ray Charles's studio, click here.